


The Beginning of Another Story

by missingstars89



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff and Angst, because canon especially sucked in the end there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-09 01:48:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16440731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missingstars89/pseuds/missingstars89
Summary: With the future uncertain after Klaus has the Hollow places into himself to save his siblings lives, Klaus and Caroline take a moment to look back on their relationship and in the aftermath, decide what comes next.





	The Beginning of Another Story

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sakura_Rae_Star](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakura_Rae_Star/gifts).



> I hope you enjoy this drabble as much as I enjoyed writing it for you! :) Happy Halloween!

 

* * *

 _Isn't it lovely, all alone_  
_Heart made of glass, my mind of stone_  
_Tear me to pieces, skin to bone_  
_Hello, welcome home_

* * *

There's screaming. So much screaming coming from what feels like every direction around him and it takes Klaus a moment to realize the screams are all coming from him.

And there's the pain too. The type of pain that makes you feel like you're being ripped apart from the inside out and if he were more coherent, he might wonder if this is karma for all the people he's caused this very type of pain to.

There's another flash of Henrik covered in his blood, Kol engulfed in flames. Mikael's hateful face as he finishes beating him.

And then, another blood curdling scream as he feels a new and stronger wave of pain.

He can hear the chanting but his mind is too far gone from the pain for him to discern who's chanting what and his eyes are too blinded by that same pain to see who it is.

And as he lies there, his body writhing in the most excruciating pain he's ever endured, he knows. This is it.

_So this is how I go out…_

He closes his eyes and the pain subsides just enough for all the shouting to stop for a moment. And for just a moment, he's able to think a little more clearly and he thinks about his life. He thinks about his family, the ones he's lost and the ones still here and all that they've been through over the centuries. From being turned into the first vampires, to hybrid curses, to running from Mikael, to daggers and coffins.

And he thinks about her.

Caroline.

He had told her once,  _"It would be impossible not to notice you, Caroline,"_  and he meant it.

He thinks about their first meeting in that classroom with Tyler to when she walked back into his life after more than a decade because of his sister's doing. He thinks about the months they spent in Buenos Aires with her friends, Bonnie and Enzo, trying to figure out a solution to their problem with the Hollow and how miraculously during that time, he and Caroline grew closer. He thinks about the time he'd almost kissed her while they danced too slow for the upbeat song on one of those nights, before they were interrupted.

And he thinks about how bittersweet their last exchange earlier that night and he hated the thought that it could be their final exchange…

_He finds her in the library, pouring over one of the grimoires but he can tell by how tense her body is that she's not really concentrating._

_"Hey," she says when she looks up and sees him, her eyes raking over him but not the lustful way he's caught her doing over the last few months when she thought he wasn't looking._

_No, she's looking for any sign that something's wrong._

_"How are you feeling?" she asks, her voice laced with a worry she can't disguise._

_"I'm fine," he assures her. "No pain. No hallucinations. Unless this is one of them but even if that were the case, I can't really find it in myself to complain," he adds with a smirk but she doesn't take the bait._

_With a sigh, he moves around the desk where she's sitting and gently takes the book from her._

_"What are you doing?" she immediately protests, trying to snatch it back but he places it out of her immediate reach._

_"When was the last time you slept or fed, Caroline?" he asks seriously._

_"I'm fine," she repeats his words. "Now can I have Bonnie's grimoire back please?"_

_"That wasn't exactly an answer to my question, love," he points out dryly._

_"Really?" she laughs humorlessly and it hits him how much he misses the sound of her laugh._

_Not this, but her actual, genuine laugh. And her smile. God, what he wouldn't give for a genuine Caroline Forbes smile right about now._

_Both had started to diminish when the hallucinations had started because of the Hollow a few weeks back, and he hadn't seen or heard either again since he'd received that phone call from Freya, letting him know that something was wrong with the others._

_The four originals had taken the Hollow from Freya to save their sister. Since the Hollow could only be anchored by something nearly as ancient and powerful as it was, at the time, the only solution they had found was to transfer into themselves but they had split it into four and went their separate ways to weaken it and keep it from possessing any of them. But as it turned out, it had only been weakening their own bodies all this time._

_Weakening them enough that it would have completely possessed or killed them had Klaus not taken all of the pieces of the Hollow inside of himself after trying to dessicate them as another temporary solution had failed._

_Being a hybrid and therefore more powerful than the others, he had the advantage of not being as affected as they were. Not at the time. But that had soon changed after all of the Hollow had been transferred into just him alone a few short days ago…_

_"You're concerned about me when you're the one who- who…" she trails off, shaking her head with a sad smile._

_"Hey look at me," he speaks quietly as he crouches in front of her and gently tilts her chin to get her to do it. "It's all going to be fine. Aren't you supposed to be the ever optimistic one?"_

_She shoots him a look and he smiles a little._

_Truth is, he wants to believe his own words but he has no idea if this plan will actually work. "All magic has a loophole, a check and balance of some sort, even this," Freya had insisted. There was scarcely any information to be found on the Hollow, most of it being myths and legends, so their search had not been easy. But, after searching for years and working tirelessly for the past couple of days, they thought they had finally managed to find a way to destroy it. It was a long shot, Bonnie had said, but it was still a shot, and it was better than nothing._

_Well, he couldn't argue there._

_Now the plan was set and now they just had to wait until the moon was at its highest for that would be when the witches would be at their strongest. Unfortunately, there was no way to determine if the moon's position affected the Hollow too but it was a risk they were going to have to take because they were running out of time._

_He brings up his hand to cup the side of her face and gently strokes it with his thumb and feels her lean into his touch, her eyes softening as they meet his._

_That doesn't long however, when she notices the black veins on his arm from the dark magic roiling inside him and growing more powerful while his body grows weaker by the second. He feels it, but he's determined not to let it show, especially when he sees the worried look cross her features again and decides she could use with a distraction._

_"Come on, love," he says as he stands and gently tugs on her hand to get her to stand too. "I think a break is in order and I do believe I owe you a tour," he smirks._

_Since they had arrived in New Orleans a few days ago, they had all been too busy trying to find a solution to get a chance to look around the busy and colorful city._

_"A tour?" she repeats incredulously. "Seriously?"_

_"Yes," he chuckles. "Believe it or not, I'm a fantastic tour guide. There's a lot I can show you about this city."_

_"You mean all the food, art, and culture?" she asks, with the first hint of a smile he's seen in a while and that, coupled with her words, have a bright and dimpled grin forming on his face._

_"You did get it. I had wondered…"_

_She looks away briefly and if he didn't know any better, he would say she looks almost embarrassed._

_"What is it?" he asks curiously._

_"I…" she sighs and takes a step back to retrieve her phone from where it sits buried under some books on the desk._

_He watches her curiously tap away at the screen until a few moments later, he hears his own voice playing through the speaker and he didn't think it was possible for his smile to grow anymore but trust Caroline to be able to do the impossible._

_"You kept it."_

_She nods once, another small and almost shy smile playing on her lips._

_"I've been transferring it from phone to phone over the past 16 years," she admits. "I think a part of me has always known that I would eventually take you up on your offer… I was just scared before."_

_He feels a sting at the thought that Caroline was afraid of him, but he nods in understanding because he can see why. He had given her plenty of reasons to fear him in the past._

_"I can see where it's not so simple deciding to take a trip with the big bad hybrid," he tries to say jokingly and is a little confused when she quickly shakes her head._

_"It wasn't that," she assures him and looks away with a small sigh before continuing. "Years ago, there was a hunter that was after Stefan and was targeting everyone he cared about to lure him out of hiding. She almost killed me, but I managed to get away with Matt's help."_

_Klaus listens intently, inside feeling the anger rise and already plotting the death of this nameless hunter if she wasn't already dead._

_"Matt told me it wasn't safe for me to stay in Mystic Falls, not until that had all blown over, so he told me to go somewhere I knew would be safe. So… I packed some things and got into my car and I drove here… to New Orleans."_

_Klaus isn't sure he remembers how to breathe. He's watching her intently and trying to keep that wretched hope at bay but failing miserably and when she looks up at him and finally meets his gaze again, he knows he's done for._

_"I was in trouble, and I came to find you," she speaks softly but firmly. "Because I think deep down, a part of me has also always known that you weren't the villain of my story."_

_His hand is moving before he can even think, coming up to cup the side of her face and pull her closer, unable to stand the distance between them. He wants nothing more than to feel her, to touch his lips to hers but he shows some restraint and instead closes his eyes as he rests his forehead against hers because not touching her at all right now feels like an even worst agony than the one he's been subjected to the last couple of days with the Hollow._

_So he takes a moment to just breathe her in and he feels her hand come up to clutch his arm, as if she were trying to hold his hand there. As if he would even think about moving it._

_That wretched hope courses through him but it feels like it's taunting him. Making him think he might finally be so close to having everything he wants, his family well and together and Caroline by his side, all at once. If only he could count on having time…_

_"In all the time I've been alive, I have had but a few regrets," he speaks so quietly she would probably have a hard time hearing if not for her own supernatural hearing. "But I think perhaps one of my biggest regrets is not getting more of that time with you, Caroline."_

_He feels her grip on his arm tighten as she shakes her head._

_"Stop," she says as she pulls back and he can see the tears that form in her eyes. "Stop talking like you're going to die. You're not going to die. You can't. You owe me a tour remember?"_

_He can feel his chest constrict at the way her voice cracks in the last part._

_"So you can't die because I'll find a way to bring you back just to kick your ass myself understood?" she tries to add on jokingly as she blinks back the tears._

_Or at least, he thinks it's jokingly._

_He smiles a little and uses his thumb to catch one of the tears that escapes her in that moment._

_"I'll try my best," he says with a ghost of a smile as he touches his forehead to hers again and closes his eyes._

_He wants nothing more than to be able to stay with her like this forever. To just be able to hold her, to feel her just like this always. He loves her. The time spent apart had not changed that. He still loves her and somehow, by some miracle, he did something right to earn her affections enough for her to not push him away in this moment. And if this moment is all he has with her, it was worth it._

_He pulls back just enough to take her in, his eyes taking in every little detail, recommitting every every line, every curve, every freckle, every inch of her face to memory._

_She opens her eyes and meets his gaze and he feels that now too familiar ache in his chest. He stays absolutely still as she lets her eyes explore every inch of his face like he'd done with her just moments ago, before she lets her hand trace the same path her eyes had just followed._

_He just watches her, suddenly too afraid to move and realize that this was yet just another hallucination. But then her eyes meet his again and her hand slips around his neck, pulling him closer while she leans in and closes the gap between them and presses her lips against his._

_The kiss is soft and almost tentative at first, but it quickly becomes hungry and passionate and his arm wrapped possessively around her, holding her close, like he would never be able to hold her close enough. For a split second, he worried he might be hurting her, but when he loosened his hold on her, she immediately used her own hands to pull him closer again, almost like she couldn't stand any inch of distance between them either._

_When he pulls back, he closes his eyes and rests his forehead against hers again and the words slip past his lips._

_"I love you."_

_Her eyes snap open and for a second she looks just as surprised as he feels and almost a thousand years of insecurities and believing no one outside of perhaps his family could ever love him, have him bracing himself for the sting of her rejection._

_But then he sees her eyes soften again before she captures his lips again in a kiss that's not soft and tentative like the other first started. No, this kiss is filled with a passion he's not experienced before. As if she's trying to show him how she feels about him even if she can't say it in words and it's more than he thinks he deserves._

_She finally pulls back but doesn't leave his arms and he tries to hold her closer, ignoring the pain and trying to focus only on the blonde in his arms for just a moment longer._

_But soon, too soon, they hear the sounds of his siblings and the others, and they both know it's almost time to go._

_He doesn't immediately let her go however, and brings up his hand to cup her face and let his eyes take her in, even if only one last time…_

_"In case this is all the time we get-"_

_"If you start saying your goodbyes right now, I will hurt you," she tries to say sternly but her voice cracks as she speaks._

_He feels the faintest of smiles tug on his lips as he nods and gently strokes the side of her face, like he's unable to stop touching her._

_"You were my last love," he murmurs almost as if he were speaking to himself, speaking so quietly, nobody else would be able to hear him._

_But she does. And she chokes out a sob as the tears start anew and it takes her a moment before she can finally speak._

_"And you're supposed to be mine," she whispers._

_And as he presses his lips to hers again, he wonders how it can be possible to feel his heart simultaneously soaring and breaking at the same time._

He thinks he hears someone shouting his name. He even thinks it might be Rebekah but he's too exhausted to check to be sure.

When the darkness washes over him, he can't help but welcome it.

xxxxx

Klaus can hear the sound of voices off in the distance and he frowns, unable to discern what they're saying.

The pain has seemed to finally have stopped, but he feels like his body's trying to recover after being broken in half.

Hell, for all he knows, maybe it was.

The voices stop and everything is quiet again. Too quiet and he has to wonder if he actually heard anything at all. Everything feels so uncertain and he hates it.

As more of his senses seem to finally start to become more alert, he becomes aware of the weight pressing against his back and around his middle.

That's enough to make him finally jerk awake and for a second, he's confused as to where he is until he recognizes his surroundings.

He's back in his room.

He has no idea how he got there, no idea what happened-

"Klaus?"

At the sound of her voice, he immediately turns and finds Caroline blinking up at him and he has a sudden and strong urge to take her in his arms and hold her close. To confirm that this was real. That she was real.

"Are you okay?" she asks as she slowly sits up, her voice laced with a concern that matches the one in her eyes as she takes him in.

He nods, because he can't seem to find his voice in that moment.

He feels like everything is still uncertain, his mind still not entirely convinced that this is all real and not another one of the Hollow's tricks.

Maybe he was still dying back in that circle. Maybe they had failed in defeating the Hollow.

But then he feels her hand cover his, distracting him from his thoughts for a moment.

"Hey," she says softly, keeping her eyes on him. "What are you thinking right now?"

"What happened?" he asks. "Is the Hollow-"

"It's done," she informs him, with no small amount of relief in her tone. "Bonnie, Freya, Davina, Vincent and the coven… they did it. We don't know if it was because they all combined their powers or the spell actually worked, but they did it. It's really gone," she gives him a watery smile. "You've been sleeping for like 10 hours now but, it's gone, Klaus. It's done."

He almost doesn't dare believe her, a part of him doesn't want to. A part of him still unconvinced that this isn't all just some hallucination, the most cruel hallucination of them all so far. To make him believe that he might actually have a chance at getting what he wants before ripping that hope away.

Almost as if sensing his thoughts, he feels her bring her hand up to cup the side of his face, her soft blue eyes peering intently into his own.

"Hey, listen to me," she says softly but firmly. "It's over. It's done."

He brings up his hand to cover hers, as if her touch is the only thing anchoring him, making him believe that this is real.

"It's done…" he repeats, needing to say the words himself to believe it.

It's not exactly a question, but Caroline nods anyway, and he sees the beginning of a smile form on her lips. That honest to goodness Caroline Forbes smile that he had missed since this had all started and his eyes eagerly try to recommit it to memory.

"Thank you," he says, keeping his eyes on hers.

"For what?" she asks with a slightly confused look.

"For helping me," he answers earnestly. "For staying by my side through all of it. I know it wasn't exactly easy."

She nods subtly and gives him a slightly watery smile.

"Thank you for not dying," she responds, only partly joking and it brings a small smile to his face. "I  _really_  would have hated looking for a way to bring you back just to kick your ass."

He can't help the laugh that escapes him then, and as he watches the bright smile that appears on her face as she looks at him, that honest to goodness Caroline Forbes smile that could light up the room, hell the whole block , he can't stand the distance between them any longer.

He slowly leans in and she meets him halfway, her lips easily finding his as he wraps his arms around her and pulls her closer. This kiss is different from the others. Whereas the others were filled with heartbreak and the regret of unfulfilled wishes and promises, this one is full of life and promise. A promise of something new. Something better.

And as he eases her down back onto his bed, he pulls back just to take her in again, as if to reassure himself one more time that this is real. That  _they_  are real.

He takes in her blue eyes that are once more shining with that happiness he's missed seeing in them. He takes in her lips, swollen from his kisses, and he sees the corners tug up into a blinding smile that's he's powerless not to return.

He quickly leans in and captures her lips again in another hungry kiss and soon he's moving them down her neck, leaving a trail of kisses against the soft skin he's longed to taste since he left her that day in the woods.

He hears her giggle when he finds that ticklish spot so he repeats his motion just to hear that sound again.

"You know your family is probably going to be waiting to talk to you right?" she says as he kisses his way up her jaw now.

"I know," he agrees, smiling when he feels her shiver slightly as he softly nips at the skin.

"I'm serious," she says a little breathlessly. "They wanted to talk about your meeting with the witches later."

The witches had all agreed to help the Mikaelson's, well, primarily Klaus, on the condition that a treaty be put in place between them. While Klaus had grumbled about how impractical it would be, he was running short on options and Caroline was optimistic that this treaty would allow the witches and vampires of New Orleans to peacefully coexist.

"Later," he says, stealing another quick kiss. "It can wait for now."

And he would talk to them, he wasn't trying to avoid anything , he just wanted to enjoy this moment with her a little longer before it was time to go out there and face the world again.

Either she senses his thoughts or she feels the same way as him, because she subtly nods and brings up her hand to wrap it around his neck and pulls him down to her again.

This time, their kiss is unhurried, the two of them content to just be together like this. To be together at all.

And as he feels the weight of her arms wrapping tightly around him, holding him like she'll never be able to hold him close enough, he smiles into the kiss and he thinks this must be what coming home feels like.

Because in that moment, it's what he feels. Like he was coming home after almost 1,000 years and finding peace.

Yes, it felt like coming home and finding peace at last.

xxxxx

Caroline is now convinced that the Mikaelson's really do have some kind of Cinderella fetish.

After the Hollow had been defeated, Rebekah and Kol had almost immediately announced that a celebration was in order. And of course, that celebration came in the form of a ball.

_"It's Mardi Gras, it would be a crime if we didn't celebrate!"_

Caroline had only rolled her eyes half-heartedly while Marcel laughed and Klaus smirked, both very clearly receptive to the idea.

Even Bonnie and Enzo had seemed a little more than receptive to the idea.

Not that she wasn't receptive herself. She always did enjoy a good celebration herself (especially if she was the one planning it), but if she were being completely honest, it was the thought of attending this grand party with a bunch of old, powerful, and worldly vampires that made her a little nervous.

Especially considering that she would be attending the party with Klaus as his… girlfriend?

They haven't really gotten the chance to really talk about everything in relation to them yet.

After he'd woken up that morning, they might have gotten a little carried away doing other things that certainly involved their mouths, but not exactly talking.

She's not sure if she'll ever be able to bring herself to look most of his family or his minions directly in the eye after she'd been horrified to discover that they had heard everything that she and Klaus had been up to when Freya not so subtly (but kindly), suggested getting sage for all of the rooms and the embarrassed look on Elijah's face, amused look on Kol's, and disgusted look on Rebekah's more than confirmed why.

Klaus of course had remained completely unbothered by it all, but he had made sure that none of his family -Kol and Rebekah- would make her feel even more uncomfortable about it.

After that embarrassing meeting that thankfully ended sooner rather than later, she'd bid Klaus goodbye much to his dismay. But she knew he needed that alone time with his siblings and Marcel, knowing that after that ordeal they had all gone through together, they needed that as much as she and Klaus needed it in the morning.

And maybe she also needed that time with her friends. Bonnie had also been through her own ordeal with helping in defeat the Hollow and Caroline wanted to spend time with her oldest friend and see how she was doing.

They had spent the rest of the afternoon at the place Bonnie and Enzo had chosen to stay at since arriving to New Orleans, and apparently would continue staying in for the foreseeable near future. They watch reruns of crappy day time TV while sort of talking about what came next, and listening to Enzo's old stories about his Mardi Gras experiences before Bonnie announced she was hungry.

They were supposed to be trying to decide on what to order for dinner, but Caroline finds herself a little distracted. Has been a little distracted almost the whole day, truth be told.

She keeps thinking about his confession, his  _'I love you'_  replaying over and over in her mind. She remembers all those years ago, when she told him she knew that he was in love with her and he hadn't denied it, and of course, she remembers clear as day her graduation night, his whole 'I intend to be your last' was pretty dang hard to forget, but hearing him say the actual words, especially more than a decade later, it felt like something else entirely.

Needless to say, it had taken her by surprise. It had left her breathless… and maybe a little scared. Not scared of him. No, scared of her feelings for him because she knows she's falling for him too. Falling hard . She meant it when she told him that he was supposed to be her last love. Because since he came back into her life, a part of her has known that he would be. But believing and knowing don't make this all any less terrifying. Sure, she's fallen in love before, but not like this. This is different and maybe that's why she was afraid of loving him but she knows, she can't stop herself from falling for him anymore than she could stop the sun from rising or setting.

And she's terrified. Terrified of losing herself and after what they've just gone through, she's terrified of losing him too.

"Gorgeous?" she hears Enzo's voice break through her thoughts and she quickly turns to look at him. "Where'd you go just now?"

"Yeah, is everything okay, Care?" Bonnie asks, looking at her with a hint of concern. "You've seemed a little distracted all day."

"Yeah, no everything is fine," she quickly assures them. "I just…"

"Don't tell me there's trouble in paradise already?" Enzo asks, only half-joking, making Caroline roll her eyes.

"No, everything with Klaus is fine," she answers and looks away as she feels her face heat a little. "He told me he loves me."

Both Bonnie and Enzo don't say anything for a beat and she looks back at them.

"Sorry Gorgeous, but was that supposed to be a secret? If so, it was the worst kept secret on the planet after the BT Tower in London."

Caroline shoots him a look and hears Bonnie laugh.

"Sorry Care, but he's got a point," Bonnie agrees. "Is Klaus telling you that he loves you a bad thing?"

"No," she answers quickly.

"But?" Bonnie probes, sensing there was more.

"I'm… I'm falling for him too," she confesses, feeling her cheeks flush.

She catches sight of Bonnie and Enzo share a look and she frowns a little.

"What's that look?" she asks.

"Nothing," Bonnie answers. "It's just… that's also the worst kept secret on the planet after Klaus being in love with you."

"Seriously, Bonnie? You too?!" she reproaches, making the couple laugh.

"I'm sorry but it's true," Bonnie shrugs. "Anyone who sees you two together can see it."

"Yeah, you two always look like you're one loaded glance away from tearing each other's clothes off," Enzo mutters with a smirk.

"Thanks, Enzo," she smiles sarcastically.

"You haven't told Klaus, have you?" Bonnie guesses. "That you're falling for him?"

She looks away sheepishly before answering.

"I couldn't…" she admits. "I'm scared I guess."

"Scared of what?"

"I've just… I've never felt this way about anyone before and I guess I'm scared that I'll lose myself. That I'll wake up 500 years from now and I won't recognize myself because I've let myself be consumed by this love that it's changed me. And maybe I'm scared that if I let myself love him, I won't know how to stop and that one day, I'll wake up 500 years from now and he'll decide forever is too long to spend with someone like me, and he'll walk away. And what if something like the problem with the Hollow happens again but this time we're not so lucky and I can't…," her voice cracks, and she feels her chest constrict at just the thought. "And I just keep hearing this little voice in my head that keeps telling me that maybe I should just walk away now before I'm in too deep."

"Oh Care," Bonnie says with a sympathetic smile as she moves to sit on the couch beside her and wrap her arms around her. "I don't really don't think you have to worry about any of that. For one, I won't let you lose yourself, even if that means locking you up and doing hypnosis," she jokes.

Caroline shakes her head with a small laugh, especially as Enzo agrees he'll help.

"But I don't think I'll have to because I know you won't let yourself get lost," Bonnie continues sincerely. "The fact that you're even thinking about this let me knows you'll be fine. And yeah, this was a close call but you have to focus not on the fact that he almost died, but the fact that he lived. Besides, like death would be able to stop Klaus Mikaelson for long? I think he's more stubborn than you so between the both of you, nothing stand a chance," she jokes. "That voice in your head is wrong. I mean, you're already thinking about a future 500 years down the line with him. I think you're already in too deep."

Caroline can feel her face burning and finds she doesn't know what to say to that, especially as Bonnie's words really hit her and she realizes in that moment that her friend is right.

"And don't worry, Gorgeous," Enzo smirks. "He's definitely on the same page as you. Trust me, he's thinking of forever with you too."

"How could you know that?" she asks genuinely curious.

Sure, his whole 'last love' speech implied he was thinking long-haul with her, but she had never told anyone about what happened that night on the football field.

"I see it in the way he looks at you," Enzo says simply. "It's the same way I look at Bonnie."

There are no words to describe the smile that spreads on Bonnie's face and Caroline feels a smile tug on her lips as she looks at her two best friends, feeling a rush of happiness for them. And maybe as she watches them together and sees how easily they can talk about forever, well maybe it eases some of her fears too.

xxxxx

A while later, Caroline arrives back at the Mikaelson's and is surprised to find Klaus waiting for her.

"Hey, is everything okay?" she asks, concern lacing her voice.

"Everything is fine," he assures her with a grin as he wraps his arms around her. "How was your visit with Bonnie and Lorenzo?"

She rolls her eyes a little amusedly the same way she always does every time he calls Enzo by his name.

"It was good," she answers with a slightly sheepish smile as she remembers what they talked about but she hopes he doesn't notice the slight change in her behavior. "Bonnie and I are planning on going dress shopping this week for your family's ball. You guys really have a Cinderella fetish don't you?" she adds teasingly.

"I have not the slightest idea what you mean," he smirks.

"Do you think your sister might want to come dress shopping with us?" she wonders and sees him smile.

"I'm sure she'd enjoy that. Bekah looks for any excuse to go shopping, how much more with someone who has the same penchant for it," he teases.

"Sorry not sorry," she shrugs with a smirk. "How did it go with your family today?"

"Better than I could have expected," he smiles and she feels a smile tug on her lips too. "Now, how's about a trip with just you and me?" he adds with a mischievous smile.

"And where are we going?" she adds with a raised brow, a smile still playing on her lips.

"I believe we have a tour that's long overdue don't you think?" he asks with a dimpled grin.

She smiles and eagerly takes his hand and as they make their way out the door, it's hard to tell who's leading who.

xxxxx

They spend the next couple of hours exploring New Orleans which is even livelier and more colorful during this Mardi Gras season and as he shows her some of his favorite spots, she thinks she can finally understand why this is one of his favorite places in the world and she thinks she can't wait to see his other favorite places in the world with him.

She has to admit he really is an excellent tour guide, providing just enough information about certain places to be helpful, but not enough that it keeps her from enjoying it and deciding what she thinks about it herself. And she loves hearing his own stories he shares, making her that much more eager and impatient to hear stories about his other ventures in the world.

He takes her to the places that serve some of the best food she's ever tried and by the end, her waistline is very thankful that she can't put on any weight as a vampire. Especially after she has her first beignets.

As the night wears on, Caroline finds herself thinking more and more about her earlier conversation with Bonnie and Enzo. She had left their place determined to tell Klaus how she feels about him, but the problem is she doesn't exactly know how. So, as the night wears on, she finds herself stealing more glances at him, trying to decide if this is the right time and of course, always chickening out.

That seems to come to an end however, when Klaus finally calls her out as they're walking down one of the crowded streets in the French Quarter.

"Something on your mind, love?" he asks a little hesitantly after about the fiftieth time she's looked at him and quickly looked away.

"Uh, yeah. Sort of. Yes," she answers, trying and failing, to keep her nerves at bay.

She sees the corners of his lips twitch but he doesn't say anything and allows her to continue and she sucks in a small breath and decides this is it.

"I have a confession," she starts.

No doubt sensing her nerves, she sees him tense even though he tries not to let it show.

"Oh?"

"About you," she continues.

This, understandably makes him pause, and the two stop walking as they turn to face each other.

When he doesn't say anything, she knows he's waiting for her to continue, so she does.

"I… I'm falling in love with you too, Klaus," she confesses and when she sees the flash of surprise that gives way to a joy and hope he seems to be trying to keep contained, almost like he's waiting for the ' but… ', she decides to put all her cards on the table. "I am," she repeats, taking his hand in hers because she knows he's having a hard time believing what he's hearing. "I'm falling for you. Every day I feel like I fall more and more. And I couldn't tell you before because it scared me…"

"Why did that scare you?" he asks, genuinely wondering and she laughs a little as she shakes her head.

"I don't know. Maybe because we're not talking puppy love here, no pun intended," she says, biting back a smile when she sees him roll his eyes but she sees the beginnings of a smile tugging on his lips. "I just… I want it all with you, Klaus. I want to travel the world with you, come home to you, experience all the art, culture and food in the world with you and I want you to be my last love and I…" she trails off, cursing herself for rambling when she had this whole speech planned out in her head.

"Done."

She looks back at him and sees that dimpled smile she loves so much and she thinks she's never seen him smile like this before. It's the type of smile that could light up an entire room and she knows she wants to see this smile again and again in the future.

But his response comes back to her and she forces herself to focus.

"Done?" she repeats dumbfounded. "Which part?" she asks with a breathless laugh.

"All of it," he smiles as he moves closer and wraps his arms around her, pulling her close and she goes more than willingly. "Done."

"Just like that?" she repeats incredulously.

"Did you really think I would object?" he chuckles.

"No, but I don't know, I didn't expect it to be so easy. I had this whole speech planned out and everything."

He laughs and steals a quick kiss.

"It won't always be easy because you and I are still first and foremost,  _you and I_ , so I've no doubt there will be challenges, and maybe I'll be shit at this, but I like to think of myself as a smart individual who can learn from his mistakes, and I trust we'll be able to overcome and learn from whatever challenges come our way together."

"Sounds like you've given this some thought," she says teasingly, if only to try to lighten all the emotion she feels welled up in her throat.

"Caroline, I've been where you're at for a long time," he smiles. "I've just been waiting for you to catch up."

She feels the laughter spill past her lips before he captures them with his and as she eagerly returns his kiss, she feels her heart racing. Racing with a happiness and love she had only ever hoped would be hers and as she pulls back and meets his eyes, she knows he feels it too.

"So where will we be traveling to first?" he asks as they walk back sometime later.

She smiles and shakes her head.

"I don't know," she answers, amused that he's already planning their first trip not even an hour later.

"Rome?" he asks teasingly. "Paris? Tokyo?"

She shoots him a look, rolling her eyes at him playfully as memories of the night he proposed this very same offer comes to mind but she feels a smile tug on her lips at the reminder of how far they'd come since then, and that his offer still stands more than a decade later. He smiles too, almost as if reading her thoughts, and kisses her again until she forgets what they were even talking about.

In the end, they decide to go to Paris first.

But that, is the beginning of another story…


End file.
